Isara Volunteer - Terri

[thartley]

Today is a scorcher.....so hazy out there.  My phone line has been out for the last few days so I've not been online quite as much.  I have been outside a lot though.  Took a short bike ride yesterday morning to get breakfast, then ride over to the ILC for a while, then home for a bit.  Even though the elevator in the building was fixed, I have been taking the stairs anyway.  Seven flights...I want to be able to take them at a nice clip before I leaving in October.  Right now, I have to stop to catch my breath on about 5-1/2.  After being at home for a while yesterday, I went back the stairs and thought I would go for a bike ride to the park or the bridge again, but at the big intersection before th park, I turned right and ended up back on Mee Chai Road a little ways.  I have not bee to that end of Mee Chai before, so I saw some shops I had not seen before.  Stopped back at the ILC to check email and PK suggested I ride to the OTHER end of Mee Chai.  Its a good little ride down there!  He said it was about 30mins down there and 30 back, but I made it there and back in about 30 mins.  While I was at the very end, I saw Gik and Guk and their Paw riding down the road on his motorbike.  We smiled and waved at each other.  Not too many falangs down that way. 

On the way back, I was so hot and tired.  It was about 4:00pm and I had not eaten since breakfast at 7:30a.  I needed to stop by the ILC and pick up some drain uncloggy stuff for my balcony drain but passed it right by.  I was thinking about some ice cold watermelon....and how there are some small watermelons for sale at one of the fruit vendors right there.  I got the watermelon and went on home after that.  I was exhausted.  But I still climbed the stairs....

[Ginafish]

You Rock, T! Taking 7 flights of stairs voluntarily is not something many people would do. and then, to do it while carrying a watermelon.

[thartley]

Well, sometimes it voluntary and sometimes its not.  The elevator has been broken more than its been working lately.  I think it was working earlier today and then this afternoon, I saw the man on the 6th floor working on it again.  Better for me not to chance it.  I cant imagine being trapped in a little metal box for any length of time here.

On a similar note, I was watching a movie today where there were a group of women friends working out feverishly at a gym, spin class, treadmills, etc.  I dont think I will ever pay a gym membership again.  If I want to walk, I will just walk outside.  I was living less than one mile from the beach and I would still drive my car and park in order to walk on the sand.  I will never pay to go sit in a little hot box sauna again, ever! And I will not take up space in my home with an exercise bike.  I will use a real one and actually go somewhere.   

[KitKat]

Terri, you're amazing and just think how much money you're saving not going to a gym to exercise.

[Ginafish]

What? Not pay for a sauna? I can't imagine why! LoL! In the climate the Swedes live in though, I'd think of having a home sauna, in the winter, the shower just never seems to stay hot long enough.

With no gym membership, you could buy a sweet bike, maybe a recumbent, those are easier on the knees. And you could get a custom helmet airbrushed with fire flames or the Isara blue man.

[thartley]

I want one of these!

[thartley]

Well, today was kinda different.  Helped PK clean out a drainage pond/ditch thing.  I dont know what it was actually,  but there were cement culverts and the water was flowing through them.  I am soooooo sunburned.     And I just ate curry.  Hot curry, well hot for me.  So I feel like I am burned on the inside and the outside. haha!!!!

I was torn between burning my clothes and washing them.  Since I cant be too crazy with the clothes here, I am washing them.

And before I pass out, I need to work on my blog.   

[Ginafish]

Being sunburned means you have to stay in on Sunday and upload the visiting Gik and Guk in school photos, right?

[thartley]

I had a blog already written about Gik and Guk but needed my camera to get some photos out of it and its been at the ILC the last several days.  I've not wanted to carry it home with me because its been raining in the evenings.  I was going to go back over and get it this evening because it is just beautiful outside, but I was literally crisping up on the short bike ride back from getting curry earlier.  My face looks like a tomato. haha!!!! 

So we will have to see how it goes tomorrow.  I really wanted to go do some filming on my own tomorrow.  I will need a battery or two charged up.....PK, CAN YOU CHARGE A BATTERY OR TWO FOR ME, PLEASE?

*ya'll think he heard me?*   

[PK]

Hear you loud and clear.

Here are some pics of Terri helping with our clean-up project this morning/afternoon. She did a great job.



That last pic is of Terri looking at her shoe and saying, "Ewwwww Some trash slime just fell on my shoe. Remind me to throw these shoes away when we're finished."

[thartley]

That's funny you mention that's what I am saying there because I actually did start wearing a different pair of sandals after my shower.   

[ZeroG]

Hey Terri! I just wanted to say that you are really setting the standard for volunteers there. I see pics of you everywhere, doing everything. You are innovating by making the classes interactive. And, you keep us constantly up to date on everything, and your writing is excellent.

Also, I'm wondering what kind of deal Ginafish worked out with you regarding the web cams. I haven't seen a cam frozen for more than a day since you got there, and we got a few new views to look at now. 

You are doing a great job!

[thartley]

Well, I dont know if I am setting any kind of standard.  I love it here in Nong Khai and am not particularly driven to explore too far out from my "homebase".  I was thinking about this a lot lastnight, too.  About why that is.  I have a theory...but of course, I will tell you all about it in a blog.   

You say it looks like I am everywhere, doing everything, and from here, I feel like I am never where I should be when I should be there. haha!!!!  Not at the ILC enough, things always happen when I am not there.  Dont go exploring on my bike enough.  Dont scope out enough eateries (I'm a MutMee/OJ's freak...though less on OJ's since Dear left    ) and I have even resorted to washing my own clothes by hand, which I really need to do today. 

I wonder when I am done here come October, if I will feel like I did all I set out to do, or if I will feel like I let too many opportunities pass me by. 

[Jennie]

I wonder when I am done here come October, if I will feel like I did all I set out to do, or if I will feel like I let too many opportunities pass me by. 

I agree with ZeroG and I hope you feel you did everything you could over here. I'm really impressed with all your efforts and maintained motivation, considering you entering a completely new and different (hot and sticky!) world!

Of course it's easy to come home and regret things you never did, that happens to me all the time. The trick is to think that you didn't really miss out, you can still go back and do all that in the future. You WILL still go back and do all that.

[KitKat]

Here are some pics of Terri helping with our clean-up project this morning/afternoon. She did a great job.



That last pic is of Terri looking at her shoe and saying, "Ewwwww Some trash slime just fell on my shoe. Remind me to throw these shoes away when we're finished."

Awesome job Terri!!  Thank you for volunteering!  I know when you decided to go to Nongkhai to volunteer,  helping with this particular project was not what you were thinking.   
And, I too, want to thank you for keeping us posted on all your activities and your blog is amazing. I really enjoy your writing and the photos,  I feel I'm right there with you!

[thartley]

Here are some pics to make you go ewwwwwww!!!!!!  Just dont ask why I took them. 

[KitKat]

[thartley]

ha! Yes, Kitkat...you are right.  did you notice the little ant peeking out from under the leaf next to that big old lizard?  he's kind of hanging upside down on the left of the screen. haha!!!!

[Ginafish]

Those are some big bees!

[thartley]

So, I went to MutMee last night but not to eat.  I went for the storytelling on the Gaia, the floating bar.  Julian, one of the part owners of the guesthouse, had a collection of short stories he had written about his experiences with different people from different parts of the world who stopover and stay at his place.  The stories are all humorous and in really good fun.  So even by myself I had a good time.    One story was The Unfortunate Tale of the Yorkshire Gentleman's Hat, a man who prized his huge Texan cowboy hat above all else and through a funny chain of events that only a falang new to Thailand could experience, ended up being thrown into a mud bath, hat and all, after a rocket he insisted he knew how to detonate better than the Thai group in charge at the Rocket Ceremony actually exploded before it even launched. There was a story of a group of Italians who were served a round of awful rice whiskey after they insisted they be served the very best Thai digestif available, this after Julian had waited their party's table in the pouring rain, being called back over across the garden time and time again, slogging through the mud.  Apparently, they may have been making sport of Julian, making a game of seeing how many times they could make him walk across the garden in the rain and mud. He had initially told the group that he didnt think there WAS a Thai digestif, but they insisted there must be, saying something like every civilized people on earth has a digestif.  So, with nothing else to do, he gets the 50 baht bottle off a forgotten shelf, dresses up nine shots of this space fuel, but instead of outrage at being served such a nasty drink, they ended up asking for another round.....and he charged them 250 baht....per shot. HA! 

He told some other stories, of his personal travels, how he ended up coming to Nong Khai and they were really enjoyable.  The crowd was small and comfortable.  I had a really fun time.   

[KitKat]

Thank you Terri for sharing your evening.  I'm so glad you found MutMee.  I didn't have the opportunity to go there, but I'm sure I'll make it there on my next trip.  I just have to meet Julian and hear some of his funny falang stories.  

[Ginafish]

The story about the Italians is hysterical! People are so weird about thinking they must have the best, even if in reality, it's something awful or of low quality!

[thartley]

Pictures from my little ride around today....












And this is my wonderful bowl of yoghurt and muesli.  Heaven!

[KitKat]

And this is my wonderful bowl of yoghurt and muesli.  Heaven!

So Terri, how did you know they had this dish?  I would have been eating this for breakfast and lunch, everyday! 

[Ginafish]

You can't print a picture like that and not say what it is! What kind of yellow and red things are out in the field??